This article is from the source 'bbc' and was first published or seen on . It will not be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/world/europe/7911761.stm
The article has changed 11 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 3 | Version 4 |
|---|---|
| Kosovo trial clears Serbia leader | Kosovo trial clears Serbia leader |
| (20 minutes later) | |
| Serbian ex-President Milan Milutinovic has been acquitted on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Kosovo by a UN war crimes tribunal. | Serbian ex-President Milan Milutinovic has been acquitted on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Kosovo by a UN war crimes tribunal. |
| Five former top Serbian officials were found guilty on some or all the charges relating to the 1990s conflict. Their sentences range from 15 to 22 years. | |
| It was the court's first ruling on alleged crimes by Serbian forces in the Kosovo conflict. | It was the court's first ruling on alleged crimes by Serbian forces in the Kosovo conflict. |
| Mr Milutinovic was seen largely as a figurehead president during that time. | |
| The court ordered the release of the 66-year-old former president. | |
| He and his fellow defendants had denied all the charges. | |
| UN TRIBUNAL SENTENCES Nikola Sainovic - 22 yearsNebojsa Pavkovic - 22 yearsSreten Lukic - 22 yearsVladimir Lazarevic - 15 yearsDragoljub Ojdanic - 15 years | |
| Former Yugoslav army chief of staff and defence minister Dragoljub Ojdanic was found guilty on some charges and sentenced to 15 years in jail. | |
| Ex-Yugoslav deputy prime minister Nikola Sainovic, ex-Yugoslav army generals Nebojsa Pavkovic and Vladimir Lazarevic, and former Serbian police public security service chief Sreten Lukic were found guilty on all charges. | |
| Sainovic was sentenced to 22 years in prison, Pavkovic to 22 years, Lazarevic to 15 years and Lukic to 22 years. | |
| Prosecutors at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) accused them of participating "in an alleged campaign of terror and violence directed against Kosovo Albanians and other non-Serbs in Kosovo during 1999". | Prosecutors at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) accused them of participating "in an alleged campaign of terror and violence directed against Kosovo Albanians and other non-Serbs in Kosovo during 1999". |
| "The crimes... include the deportation and forcible transfer of several hundred thousand people, as well as the murder and persecution of thousands of Kosovo Albanians," the court said in a statement. | "The crimes... include the deportation and forcible transfer of several hundred thousand people, as well as the murder and persecution of thousands of Kosovo Albanians," the court said in a statement. |
| Lost immunity | Lost immunity |
| At the time of the conflict in Kosovo, real power lay in the hands of Mr Milutinovic's mentor, Slobodan Milosevic, the then-president of Yugoslavia. | At the time of the conflict in Kosovo, real power lay in the hands of Mr Milutinovic's mentor, Slobodan Milosevic, the then-president of Yugoslavia. |
| href="/1/hi/world/europe/5165708.stm">Profiles: Kosovo trial accused | |
| Milosevic died in tribunal custody in 2006, before a verdict was delivered in his own trial, giving this trial much greater significance, says BBC correspondent Helen Fawkes in Belgrade. | Milosevic died in tribunal custody in 2006, before a verdict was delivered in his own trial, giving this trial much greater significance, says BBC correspondent Helen Fawkes in Belgrade. |
| The trial of Mr Milutinovic and his fellow defendants was the largest case at the ICTY to have reached this stage. | The trial of Mr Milutinovic and his fellow defendants was the largest case at the ICTY to have reached this stage. |
| During the trial, which began in July 2006, UN prosecutors called 113 witnesses to testify against them, while defence lawyers called 118. | During the trial, which began in July 2006, UN prosecutors called 113 witnesses to testify against them, while defence lawyers called 118. |
| Prosecution witnesses testified that Serb forces shelled towns and villages during the Kosovo conflict in 1999, murdered civilians and raped women as they were driven from their homes. | Prosecution witnesses testified that Serb forces shelled towns and villages during the Kosovo conflict in 1999, murdered civilians and raped women as they were driven from their homes. |
| Although Mr Milutinovic was indicted during the conflict, he served out his full five-year term as president until the end of 2002. | Although Mr Milutinovic was indicted during the conflict, he served out his full five-year term as president until the end of 2002. |
| It was only after he lost his immunity as president that he surrendered. | It was only after he lost his immunity as president that he surrendered. |
| In total, the ICTY has indicted nine of the most senior Serb and Yugoslav officials for crimes alleged to have been carried out in Kosovo by Serb forces in 1999. | In total, the ICTY has indicted nine of the most senior Serb and Yugoslav officials for crimes alleged to have been carried out in Kosovo by Serb forces in 1999. |
| Vlajko Stojiljkovic, a senior police official close to Milosevic, was indicted but committed suicide in Belgrade in 2002. Vlastimir Dordevic, the former chief of Serbia's Public Security Department and a fugitive until his arrest in June 2007, went on trial on 27 January. | Vlajko Stojiljkovic, a senior police official close to Milosevic, was indicted but committed suicide in Belgrade in 2002. Vlastimir Dordevic, the former chief of Serbia's Public Security Department and a fugitive until his arrest in June 2007, went on trial on 27 January. |